Window washing and more…

I forget how many windows are in this house. Yesterday Mr and I washed 26 windows and 4 patio doors and we aren’t even close to being done. I’ll think about tackling some more this afternoon. I’ve got 5 patio doors and at least 17 windows left… fortunately they tilt.

Our kitchen window needs a new tilt shoe. That requires a trip to Home Depot to find out if I can even order them. (If I can, I’ll order 25 just to make sure that I have them when I need them.)  If not, I’ll fight with what I have to make it work… I think a new shoe unit would be easier and simpler in the end… 

I decided to go with yellow for an accent color for the front piazza. I love red and blue, but I really needed a pop of color out there. I’m still looking for things to put out there but it’s a start, right? 

We spent most of Saturday afternoon power washing the patio furniture for the pool deck.  (I put my yellow boots by the door when we finished and I think I’m going to leave them there!) 

We finally invested in an outdoor rug. The colors match the colors in the awning. (Look at me go!) Now it looks like grownups actually live here. Yes, we are easily impressed! Check it out! 

We moved some of the other patio furniture around. Change is hard, but change is good. I think it looks welcoming out there now. If we can get the pool temperature up a bit, we might actually swim! Once the pool filter is fixed, we will consider power washing the pool deck. At the moment, we are happy the pool is blue and clear and we do NOT want to accidentally put any dirty water in there. 

The landscapers are coming soon. They will primp up the vegetation back here, and it will be lovely. They will also redesign the front piazza garden - which is full of stuff that looks like weeds and the pink roses my mother loved (and that the deer perpetually eat). If they can keep the roses and put in something more manageable, I’m all for it. If the roses need to go, that’s ok too. We are in need of gardens that don’t require a lot of work or weeding. I was not blessed with my father’s green thumb, nor with his desire to be outside primping the plantings. 

We are hoping the front porch construction will start soon. The county permit office has its own schedule, so patient is what I need to be right now. I’m finding that difficult… alas, I’ve got a lot of deep cleaning and prepping to do before my reunion party… that will keep me busy and keep my mind off the porch. 

Porch Prepping

I’m having this reunion at the end of July and I want my house and yard to look nice. I have painted the chairs and milk cans. I painted the bistro set. I dug out the little table and chairs and refinished them. They came out adorable. 

But I have a lot of space to fill and I’m adding the front porch. The big question is how do I decorate it all? I have lots of chairs - we will be cleaning those up this weekend and painting the ones that are faded. 

At the moment, I think I’ll put the bistro set on the new front porch. I’m building a surround for the A/C unit that’s on the piazza. I think I’ll get 2 new rockers for the front porch so I can leave the ones I have where they are. I’d like to put the milk cans on the front porch to keep them out of the weather. So, that leaves an empty area even emptier… 

And then there’s the pool deck… as I said before, I have lots of chairs. I have 2 tables. I have a rug coming next week, but if it arrives and I hate it, I will need to start over. I want it to look welcoming… right now, everything looks empty! LoL! 

I’ll figure something out… stay tuned! 

Panic over my cookbook app

Yesterday I updated my iOS. Today I went to look up a recipe and my cookbook app wouldn’t open. To say that I was hyperventilating is an understatement. I use my cookbook app every single day. All of my favorite recipes are in the app. 😳😳😳

It took some doing and a little bit of research, but I have updated my app, saved my recipes, and managed not to completely freak out. It turns out that I had purchased the updated version before, but I guess I never synced the versions. Why? I haven’t a clue! I suspect that I thought I did it, but it didn’t happen… 

Crisis averted. My recipes are accessible. 

Life is good! 

Chicken

Mr told me we had too much chicken in the freezer. No surprise there... I’d rather have fish most days. Chicken seems to be my nemesis. So, I decided to look for some chicken recipes online. I came across a recipe for Chicken Masala at www.masalaherb.com. It was easy to make - of course I changed it a wee bit - I used 1lb of mushrooms, I flattened the chicken and cut it into “tender” sized pieces, I shook the chicken in a bag instead of dredging it, and I added a wee bit of cornstarch/water to thicken up my sauce. I think I had to do that because I used 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy cream. 

It was delicious! 

I’ll make that agin, for sure! 

Getting motivated

That’s what happens when you decide to have a reunion at your house... you get motivated to clean every corner and spruce it up. You need me? I’ll be starting in our room and moving from room to room. I might just get this place ready by July 31! 

We haven’t had real company in so long, I don’t know if I remember how to host a party! 🤣🤣 No worries! I can still cook for 25 with my eyes closed! 

Thursday? Already? 13

 Wow! I can’t believe that it’s already Thursday! Here’s my list of 13 things I’m thinking about today.

1. It’s been a busy week. Fortunately, I went to town on Tuesday to have lunch with a friend. I went grocery shopping and got gas that day. Normally I do that on Wednesday. 

2. There is currently a gasoline shortage. It seems the Russians don’t have anything better to do than to hack our pipeline computer system and hold it hostage. Really?? 

3. Now all the crazies have gone and hoarded all the gas the same way they hoarded toilet paper last spring. You’d think they’d learn! 

4. I decided to spruce up the porch furniture. The rockers and milk cans are now black. I love them! 

5. I repainted the bistro set and the bench black. They look amazing! 

6. I need to figure out how to decorate out front to make it look welcoming. It’s pretty bare out there. 

7. I’m having a VMI mom reunion in July. I want the house to look good. 

8. The front porch and new door are still in the planning stages, but should be moving along soon. 

9. This week I looked for some new recipes. Today’s lunch was almost gourmet! Pan seared scallops with mushroom cauliflower risotto. It was delicious!

10. It turns out that Mini may have a thyroid condition. If she declines rapidly, we will not be selfish. We will do what is best for her. 

11. In the mean time, we will continue to love her, keep her comfortable, and spoil her rotten. 

12. I’m currently working on a shawl. 

13. In the good news department, LLB was voted onto her Condo Association’s Board of Directors, #1 is headed home in June, and the pool filter should be fixed at the end of the month! Woo! 

Friday Fourteen

 Since I missed Thursday, let’s do a Friday 14. 

Fourteen things I’m thinking about today. 

1. Mini has ear drops - she needs them for 10 days. She did well yesterday. Let’s see how she tolerates this tonight... 

2. The pool is open. 

3. It seems chlorine is in short supply this year. I got a thing that’s supposed to help me use less chlorine, stop algae, and generally keep my pool sparkling. It arrives today. I’ll let you know how it works. 

4. I’m really glad I purchased a bucket of chlorine at the end of last year. 

5. Jimmy came and painted the shutters. The house looks so good now! 

6. The permitting process for the front porch is in progress. I’m very excited to get the porch on the front of the house! 

7. Jimmy is going to paint the pergola black, take out the columns, wrap (and trim out) the posts and paint them black. It’s going to look fantastic. Maybe the wood bees will go away once we do that. 

8. Need a handyman? You can have Jimmy once he’s finished at my house. 

9. I’m a delegate for Virginia. I get to vote tomorrow. 

10. We are going to lunch on the way home. I’m spending my Mother’s Day gift certificate from #1 and Yellow Rose. 

11. We might even hit the dump tomorrow, too! Yes, we live large! 

12. I have a screen to repair. I’ll attempt that this afternoon. 

13. LLB is off meeting her beau’s mom this weekend. This trip was supposed to happen at Christmas, but was postponed for one reason or another. All I know is, I had them for Christmas and I was so happy! 

14. We are blessed. 

Busy busy!

Wow! Time sure does move along, doesn’t it? We have been super busy this past week or so. The pool fence has been painted, the bell duets have been practiced and played, the wedding gifts are finished,  HOA letters have been printed and sent, and tonight I went to my first rehearsal as a ringer with the Community Choir! It’s so nice to just show up and ring! 

If it weren’t so late, I’d write more... but I’m pooped! 

Tomorrow will have to be soon enough.